Jewish Wisdom

     Said the Riziner: "Various types of people come to me, but not all are influenced by my counsel to improve themselves. If a man is covered by a blanket, his inner warmth is increased. But if a stone is covered in this way, it receives no warmth."
— "The Blanket," in Hasidic Anthology, Louis I. Newman (ed.), p. 29.

     A Rabbi was asked: "Why is it that the pious man seems less eager to persuade others to become religious than the impious man to gain companions in wickedness?"
     He replied: "The man of piety walks in light and is not afraid to walk alone, whereas the man of impiety walks in darkness and is anxious for company."
— "The Need for Company," in Ibid., p. 278.

     Said the Bershider: "Two things I learned from my Master during my last visit to him: 'The less one talks, the nearer he is to holiness'; and 'Only that good deed is valuable of which no one knows.'"
— "Silence and Secrecy," in Ibid., p. 321.

     The author of Kol Omer Kera said: "We read in a Midrash that Cain and Abel quarreled for the reason that each wished to establish the Holy Temple on his land. This excuse ever since has been brought forward for every shedding of blood and for every war. It is always maintained that the fight is on behalf of a holy purpose."
— "Every War a Holy War?," in Ibid., p. 366.

     Rabbi Nahum of Tzernobil was accustomed to befriend poverty-stricken Hasidim but was abrupt with wealthy ones. A rich Hasid asked him: "Rabbi, does not the Talmud teach that the Shekinah rests upon him who is wise, strong and rich? Does not this prove that God loves the rich?"
     The Rabbi smiled and said: "Do you truly believe that God cares for that which is external to a man? The wise, strong and rich man on whom the Shekinah rests, is the one described in Pirkei Avoth (4:1): 'Who is wise? He who learns from all men. Who is mighty? He who subdues his passions. Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion.'"
— From "Does God Love the Rich?," in Ibid., pp. 504-505.